Changes in Agriculture

1. Mechanization of agriculture The mechanization of agriculture led to huge improvements in efficiency, but caused problems for the yeoman (independent) farmer. Problems Presented by Machines More capital needed Machines demanded upkeep and repair Added to the financial risks that independent farmers had to take

Mechanization of agriculture Copyright 1997 State Historical Society of Wisconsin

The "Little Giant" thresher, like other farm machinery, reduces farm labor needs, but increases capital costs

Copyright 1997 State Historical Society of Wisconsin

2. Opening of new agricultural lands As land prices went up and crop prices fell, farmers began mortgaging their property in order to put more land in cultivation. Unusually high levels of rainfall also fueled a drive for land acquisition during the 1870s and the early 1880s. By cultivating more land, farmers hoped to pay off their growing debts. Many urban businessmen, however, charged farmers extraordinarily high interest rates on their mortgages. When drought struck the Midwest in 1886, the combination of unwatered crops and high interest rates was disastrous for many farmers. By the mid-1880s, Midwestern farmers had the highest per capita debt in the United States.

Wisconsin threshing scene, September Copyright 1997 State Historical Society of Wisconsin

3. Growth of specialization in farm products

Although American farmers experimented with new plants and methods on a regular basis throughout the nineteenth century, most preferred to grow familiar crops. As a result, while urban businessmen were diversifying their holdings, farmers continued to invest all of their capital in a single crop and increased their chances of sliding into financial ruin.

4. Changing character of markets for agricultural goods Prior to the Civil War, only a handful of American farmers sold their crops abroad. After the War, however, international markets for United States agricultural goods expanded dramatically. In the years from 1860 to 1900, agricultural products comprised 75% of the United States' total export trade. Many farmers, however, did not understand fully the financial complexities of commodity markets or foreign trade. Middlemen, especially railroad agents and owners, profited from the ignorance of the farmers. Thus, even as markets for farm products expanded, farmers often did not benefit from that expansion..

Loading a grain steamer at Milwaukee--linking Midwestern farmers with the world economy Copyright 1997 State Historical Society of Wisconsin

Farmers remained largely ignorant of basic business practices after the Civil War. They had none of the power that had made other businessmen prosperous. Farmers had no control over the marketplace. Their prosperity, in fact, depended on six factors which they could not regulate:

• Business Cycles
• Credit
• Transportation
• Labor Supply
• Price Structure
• Government policies
  

In reaction to these problems, farmers began to take political action.

"Agrarian Myth"

This is the concept, popularized by Thomas Jefferson, that the self-reliant yeoman farmer was the bedrock of American society. The gulf between this ideal and the reality of farming--falling income, and loss of profits to the railroads, exasperated farmers. For this reason, many tried to form organizations that would make the Agrarian myth a reality at the end of the nineteenth century.

The Grange

The full name of the Grange was "The National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry." The word "grange" comes from an archaic word for "granary," but, in the context of American history, the word refers to an association of farmers founded in the United States in 1867. The Grange worked to pass pro-farmer legislation and instituted the cooperative movement to allow farmers to pool capital and purchase machinery, supplies, and insurance.

"At first most of the [Granges] were in Minnesota, the home of the founder, Oliver Kelley. During the 1870s, however, the movement spread rapidly, fed by agrarian desperation over hard times, high railroad shipping rates, and tight money. By 1875, the membership had passed 850,000. During these years, the Grangers placed growing emphasis on the extent to which farmers were being victimized by railroads, merchants, and banks. The Patrons of Husbandry stood at the head of a nationwide agrarian movement[...] that created hundreds of cooperatives, founded banks, pushed through legislation regulating railroads and grain elevators, and campaigned for political candidates.[...] Because of opposition from local businesses as well as the Grangers' own inexperience, few of their economic initiatives succeeded. Nevertheless, they set important precedents with their legislation, particularly those regulating railroads (as affirmed by the Supreme Court in Munn v. Illinois, 1877). More important, the Granger movement marked the beginning of an aggressive and self-conscious effort by the nation's farmers to define their problems in economic terms and to address those problems through economic and political action." Eric Foner and John A. Garraty, eds., The Reader's Companion to American History (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1991) 464-65.

Munn vs. Illinois

The United States Supreme Court decided Munn vs. Illinois in 1877. In its ruling, the court upheld the right of state legislatures to regulate railroad rates.

"Chief Justice Morrison R. Waite wrote the majority opinion. In it he stated that private property becomes subject to regulation by the government through its 'police powers' when the property is devoted to the public interest" Eric Foner and John A. Garraty, eds., The Reader's Companion to American History (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1991) 759.

"Common carriers exercise a sort of public office, and have duties to perform in which the public is interested.... Their business is, therefore, 'affected with a public interest.'"-- (From the majority opinion of Chief Justice Waite.)

After this legal victory, the Grange backed away from political activism. In addition, improved agricultural conditions in the Midwest caused membership to drop. Three new organizations eventually succeeded the Grange in the 1880s.

These three groups held a convention in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1889, but they were unable to overcome regional differences and form a national organization. In the elections of 1890, however, southern farmers allied with local Democrats, while Midwestern farmers formed their own local parties which became known as "People's Parties." Mary Elizabeth Lease, a Kansas farmwoman, was one of the Populist orators who traveled throughout rural America trying to whip up support for pro-farm candidates in the election of 1890.

Omaha Platform of 1892

In 1890, farmers elected 5 United States senators, 6 governors, and 46 congressmen. Encouraged by this electoral success, farmers again set their sights on a national coalition. The three major farmers' organizations held a convention in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1892. Six principal demands emerged from this meeting:

1. A permanent union of all working classes
2. Wealth for the workers
3. Government ownership of railroads
4. Government ownership of all communications systems
5. More flexible and fair distribution of the national currency
6. No more ownership of land by those who do not actually use it

As it turned out, the Populists' less radical demands, such as their call for a secret ballot, a graduated income tax, and the direct election of Senators, became law within twenty years.

Main critiques made by Populists:

• The American legal system placed too much emphasis on property rights
• Monopolies were an economic and social evil
• Social Darwinism & laissez-faire were bankrupt ideologies
• Industrial society had turned individuals into economic commodities
• Wealth was unevenly distributed
  

  

  William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925), Populist leader

  Copyright 1997 State Historical Society of Wisconsin

  Populism and Presidential Elections William Jennings Bryan was nominated for president by both the Democrats and the Populists in 1896. At the 1896 Democratic national convention, Bryan delivered the "Cross of Gold" speech, which called for unlimited coinage of silver. He held that government should protect individuals and the democratic process against the growing power of monopolies. Bryan lost to the Republican candidate, William McKinley, who ran on a platform of "prosperity for all." In 1900, Bryan ran again for president and hoped to make the election a referendum on American imperialism, but lost to McKinley a second time. His final campaign for president was in 1908, when he lost to William Howard Taft.

  William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925), Populist leader Copyright 1997 State Historical Society of Wisconsin

  William McKinley (1843-1901) Copyright 1997 State Historical Society of Wisconsin

  William McKinley (1843-1901)

  © 1997 State Historical Society of Wisconsin

  Tom Watson was the Populist candidate for president in 1904 and 1908. Watson was vehemently anti-Semitic, anti-Black, and anti-immigrant, and his failed campaign demonstrated the collapse of Populism as a national political movement.

  

  Rural America underwent massive transformations in the late-nineteenth century. In response, farmers began a nationwide movement demanding a new kind of politics. More and more people began to view the federal government as a possible source of protection against the ravages of industrial society. Farmers, however, were not the only Americans who championed government power as a means to assuage the problems that they perceived in society. As conditions in cities worsened in the late-nineteenth century, more and more city dwellers began to make similar calls for government action. The story of this urban counterpart to Populism is an incredibly fascinating and important subject; so important, in fact, that it is the subject of the next lecture: Lecture #11, "The Dawn of Liberalism: the Story of Progressivism."

  Lecture 10	Related Web Links
  Content	Presentation	Audience	Link	Info
  		College	The "Cross of Gold Speech," by William Jennings Bryan
  		Grad	"Recent Literature on American Populism: A Bibliographical Essay," by Rebecca Edwards
  		High School	Biography of William Jennings Bryan
  		High School	The Grange: A Historical Summary
  		High School	Farm Aid
  		High School	Cyrus Hall McCormick, inventor of the mechanical reaper
  		College	A Transition Between Populism and Progressivism!

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